Perhaps they did. That fateful Cubs-Brewers series in Milwaukee sent the Brew Crew into a tailspin. The Small Bears swept their N.L. Central rival in their own park.

The Brewers have lost seven of their last nine games and tempers are flaring.

During Monday night’s loss to the Reds, slugger Prince Fielder got into it with pitcher Manny Parra. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Fielder was upset because Parra headed toward the clubhouse during the Brewers’ half of the seventh inning.

That is bad etiquette. Pitchers are supposed to stick around and watch their teammates hit for a half-inning before heading off for ice. Fielder mentioned this . . . and the two scuffled.

“If you want to know what happened or what transpired — blow-by-blow or what words were said — I’m sorry, you’re not going to know,” beleaguered Brewers manager Ned Yost told reporters. “It’s private. It’s between us, and it’s not a big deal. And it’s not the first time it ever happened, and it won’t be the last.

“When I was a kid growing up, the Oakland A’s would fight each other every single day — that’s why they called them the fighting A’s — and they won the world championship,” Yost said. “It’s not a major deal. It’s what happens. It makes teams better.”

Yeah, well, good luck keeping the guys focused Ned. Everybody remembers what happened to your team last season when the games got big.

Here is a video recap of Monday’s meltdown:

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while the Cards bullpen tries to suck it up:

• Given the obvious fatigue of these relievers, how much longer can Tony La Russa try to play his late-inning match-up game?
• Isn’t it bizarre to see Albert Pujols struggle through an 0-for series at Busch? Didn’t he used to own this place?
• With the Twins looking to offload Livan Hernandez, don’t the Cards have to take a good look at him to see if there might be something left?
• Might Dave Duncan be able to fix him, too?

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jerry Greene, Orlando Sentinel: “It’s not just that Tiger Woods is at home watching TV. Based on Sunday’s men’s golf around the world, it’s also that nobody can play anymore. If Tiger was watching, he probably switched to the X Games. Yes, Vijay Singh won the Bridgestone Invitational but did so despite missing three putts of less than eight feet on the backside of his final round. He was 8 of 18 on putts from 4 to 8 feet during the tournament — and won. Phil Mickelson? Don’t ask.”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “Conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said he wants to buy the St. Louis Rams. I dunno, though. Not sure about an offense where every play is run to the far right.”

Mike Lupica, New York Daily News: “For all that we constantly hear about the Yankees getting younger, take a look at the age of the lineup they field when Pudge is their catcher, Giambi is at first, Damon is the DH. It looks older than the Republican Party.”

Rick Chandler, Deadspin: “Aaron Rodgers was welcomed with all the warmth and patience that one might expect from the down-to-earth, dairy-loving folks of Wisconsin on Monday; he was booed back to the Stone Age. The new guy threw an end zone interception during a two-minute drill to go along with a dozen or so incompletions, drawing displeasure from the 56,600 who braved an hour’s rain delay to watch the Family Night scrimmage at Lambeau Field. Booed at Family Night; that’s harsh.”

Thomas Bonk, Los Angeles Times: “(Brett) Favre joins Jerome Bettis, Carl Eller, other NFL players, NBC talent and chef Bobby Flay in offering recipes in a ‘Sunday Night Football Cookbook,’ on shelves next week for $27.95, the profits from its sales going to charity. One recipe Favre is sure not to include: humble pie.”

Elliott Harris, Chicago Sun-Times: “Actor Gary Coleman’s Northwoods League baseball career makes for a short story. He appeared in a game Friday as the leadoff batter for the Madison Mallards. The 4-8 Coleman was ejected before he could show off any diff’rent stroke because he had a bat corked with bouncy balls. ‘Looks like you’re going to have a short night,’ home-plate umpire Jack Herbert told Coleman, who argued with him and bumped the ump.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “Bob Costas is now tethered to his Olympic host chair, wherever that may be. He cannot leave the studio, except for Christmas, Opening Day and deaths in the family. An I.V. will feed him baseball scores under an artificial sky — like the one at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas — that reproduces 24-hour cycles of sunlight and darkness. P.S. Under these conditions, it is understandable if Costas has gone completely out of his mind.”

Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle: “At Paris in 1900, hurdles were a series of 30-foot-long telegraph poles positioned across the track. Try ticking one of those hurdles. Just before the finish line was a water jump. Whoever designed that setup probably went on to a career in miniature-golf-course design.”

MEGAPHONE

“He had about as much fun in the NFL as I did. When he went there, I gave him two years. He almost made it one.”

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier on new Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino.